Hawkeye has been a mainstay of the Avengers team for decades. Despite the lack of superpowers, Hawkeye has held his own, fighting alongside the likes of Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. These years involved epic battles, romances, death, and the founding of the West Coast Avengers. You have to go back to 1965, a Golden Age for Marvel, to find out how Hawkeye joined the Avengers though.
Hawkeye’s origin story
Hawkeye’s origin and first ever appearance was not in The Avengers, but in Tales of Suspense #57 in 1964. In his comic debut, Clint starts as a villain!
Working at an amusement fair as one of the acts, Clint is witness to Iron Man rescuing some punters from a fairground ride which had broken, becoming a death trap. Instead of being in awe and feeling gratitude, Clint feels nothing but jealousy of Iron Man. Convinced he could be better than Iron Man, Clint designs a costume and decides to become an adventurer like Iron Man.
“I’ll make myself a costume that no one will ever be able to forget”
Hawkeye
On his first patrol as Hawkeye, the police wrongly accused him of stealing jewels. Luckily, a beautiful lady is on hand to whisk him away in her car before the police catch him. The woman turns out to be none other than the Black Widow. Enraptured by her looks, Black Widow easily convinced Hawkeye that he should take on Iron Man for her.
In their first encounter, Hawkeye surprises and easily beats Iron Man; his special tipped-arrows with a chemical compound rusting Iron Man’s joints. Tony Stark is able to escape though, before he tracks down Hawkeye for round two. This time, Iron Man is more successful, breaking out of Hawkeye’s rope arrow that had tangled around him, before flinging Hawkeye into the sea.
Hawkeye had been playing possum however and while Iron Man thinks he is safely knocked out, Hawkeye uses the opportunity to fire a demolition arrow at him. Dazed, Iron Man doesn’t notice Hawkeye slip away with Black Widow until it is too late.
Hawkeye becomes an Avenger
The original Hawkeye was not the hero we now know and love. Readers did not have to wait long to see a major development for Clint that came in The Avengers #16, from Stan Lee, Dick Ayers and Jack Kirby in 1965, where he joins the Avengers team.
In the issue, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, and Giant Man had been battling the Masters of Evil. The Black Knight, Enchantress, Executioner, and Melter had been doing well against the Avengers, before Thor transported Melter and the Black Knight into another realm where their powers did not work.
It was a battle with a toll however as, back at the mansion, Janet laments how hard it is, constantly fighting. Hank Pym realises he had not noticed how hard it had been for her and Tony Stark even suggests disbanding. They do not have long to think about this though as a new danger made itself known.
Gas filled the room, forcing the Avengers to leap back into action. Iron Man found an arrow stuck to the door, leaking gas. He immediately knows who would have fired it at them. They find Hawkeye standing next to Stark’s butler, who was all tied up.
“I wish to join the Avengers! I never intended to be an outcast, or an enemy of society!”
Hawkeye
Here, Hawkeye announced he never wanted to be a villain and wanted to join the Avengers. He informed them that Black Widow, who he had fallen in love with, had been murdered by her communist handlers. After showing his skill with a bow by shooting arrows to release the trussed up butler, Iron Man declares him an Avenger, making Hawkeye the seventh member to join the team.
With Captain America and Thor tied up with business elsewhere, Iron Man confirms at a press conference that, after announcing Hawkeye, they were still considering other applications. Hank and Janet use this time to decide to take a leave of absence too.
On returning from his mission, Captain America enters the mansion to witness Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being inducted as new members. With these new faces, Iron Man too decides to step down, giving Captain America a much different team to lead. This began the popular approach to the Avengers, where lesser known characters would be added to the team alongside big names.
Buy Hawkeye Epic Collection: The Way of the Arrow – Bookshop.org UK (I earn a commission)
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